Early Indo-European Texts

Old Irish

Patrizia de Bernardo Stempel, Caren Esser, and Jonathan Slocum

This page contains a text in Old Irish with a modern English translation.
This particular text and its translation are extracted from a lesson in the
Early Indo-European Online
series, where one may find detailed information about this text
(see the Table of Contents page for Old Irish Online in
EIEOL),
and general information about the Old Irish language and its speakers' culture.

Translation

"[It is] not with me that [there] is desire," said she, "but with the
daughter of Echaid that [there] would be desire for Mael Fothartaig,
of the(ir) sexual encounters."

"Do not say [this], woman!" said Congal. "You will be dead if Mael
Fothartaig should hear you! Indeed I shall do your own bidding in
respect to him, though, if it should be a desire with you."

The maid communicates this to
her (i.e. to her mistress).

"It is very well with me," said she, "since you will dare communicating
the message to him, provided that you yourself should meet with him,
and you shall do my own bidding to him afterwards."

[It] is done
[then].

The maid sleeps with him, that is,
with Mael Fothartaig.

"Well then," she said, "will you indeed not do my own bidding this time?
Is it better with you [that] the man yonder [be] yours alone? You will be
dead then through myself!"

One day then the woman starts to cry
in front of Mael Fothartaig.

"Why are you vexed, woman?"
said he.

"The daughter of Echaid at threatening my killing to me," said she, "since
it is not that I do her bidding to you so that she could meet with you."

"Likely then," said he. "[It was] not wrong of you," said he, "you took
protection." "Woman," said he, "even if I myself were thrown into a
faggot-pit of fire three times, and dust and ashes were made of me, I would
not meet with the wife of Ronan, though it be it that might save me from
all that [burning]." "I shall go then," he said, "in order to avoid her."